Bleacher assembly



March 24, 1942.

H. v. LUDWICK 2,277,594

BLEACHER ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.Herbert V. Ludwick ,March 24, 1942.

H. v. LUDWICK 2,277,594

BLEACHER AS S EMBLY Filed Sept. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.Herbert Lutfwmk Atlq March 24, 1942. v, LUDWICK BLEACHER ASSEMBLY FiledSept. 20, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. {lrberl' V. Luduick BY W WAtty.

. spectator events, out

bleacher section illustrated in Fig.

Patented Mar. 24, 1942 UNITED STAT-ES PATENT OFFICE BLEACHER ASSEMBLYHerbert V. Ludwick, Dearborn, Mich. Application September 20, 1940,Serial No. 357,566

'(ot-iss-l) 2 Claims.

This invention relates to portable bleachers and particularly to thattype of bleacher used at of doors or indoors.

An object of the invention is to generally improve bleacherconstructions and in so doing, provide a device which is compact, sturdyin construction, light in weight, economical to manufacture, simple toset up and take down, and one which may be packed and transported fromplace to place with the minimum of effort and ex- D nse.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a unitary bleacherconstruction which has a great safety factor and an excessive loadcarrying capacity because of the particular combination and arrangementof the load carrying elements.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a unitary bleacherconstruction in which the load carrying elements are firmly locked'against displacement from one another when in use, and the units may besecured to one another to form a continuous assembly.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a portablebleacher. unit in which the seats and foot boards are all positionedabove the principal load carrying members.

A further object of the invention is the-provision of a device of thecharacter referred to in which the seats andfoot boards are arranged andsecured in such manner may safely walk on an even plane from onebleacher to another, without having to step over the stringers, orwithout danger of the boards being displaced, and without disturbing thepersons already seated.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a unitarybleacher construction which may be readily assembled in large part fromstandard pre-fabricated structural pieces.

The foregoingfand other objects and advantages of the invention willappear as the description proceeds, reference being made from time totime to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the rear of a bleacher sectionembodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a left end view of the bleacher section illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of the left end of the Fig. 4 is a rear elevationof one of the units comprising the bleacher section illustrated in Fig.1.

, Fig. 5 is a front elevation of one of the units comprising thebleacher section illustrated in Fig. 1.

that the spectators 1 v members comprising the jack I9.

feet employed 24 to the inside Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary detailshowing some of the structural features of my in'- vent-ion.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 1-1 of Fig.6.

Fig.8 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 9-9 of Fig.6.

Fig. 10 is a sectional giew taken substantially on the line l0l0 of Fig.6.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line H- H of Fig.2.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line |2 l2 ofFig. 2.

Fig. 13 is a detailed section of one of the feet employed with mybleacher.

Fig. 14 is a modified form of one of the feet employed with my bleacher.

Fig. 15 is another modified form of one of the with my bleacher.

' Referring now more particularly to the drawings, it will elements bymy device. Any number of these units can be joined together to formsections as shown in Fig. 1. The stringers I8 are primarily I-beams incross-section, although I prefer to employ the special I-beam fabricatedand sold under the trade name Stran Steel for the reason that it islight in weight and is corrugated (Fig. 10) to provide unusual rigidityand strength.

The jacks H! are rectangular in preferably made of Stran Steel ing across-section as shown, at secured together by welding means. The jacksmembers 2| and shape and are members havlQa in Fig. 9, and or othersuitable I9 are braced by means of the cross-braced by the diagonalmembers 22 (Figs. 4 and 5). The cross members 2| are preferably made ofU-shaped channel stock and are preferably welded to the vertical areadapted to serve as bearing members for the stringers I8. It will benoted that meet the stringers l8 at an angle of degrees. The upper endsl9b (Fig. 9) of the vertical members of the jacks I 9 are provided withU-shaped filler plates 23, the legs of which are welded as at 'of thevertical members l9b.

, The stringers outer sides of the stringers apertures in the plates l8are also provided with U-shap'ed filler plates 25, (Figs. 6, 9 and 10)the legs of which are welded as at 26, to the inside of the horizontallegs of the stringers l8. This arrangement gives fiat bearing surfacesbetween the l8 and the inner sides of the jacks l9, and prevents thejacks I! from turning on their vertical axes. The stringers l8,

the plates 25, plates 23 and the members lllb (Figs. 9 and 10) are allprovided with substantially large holes 21 into which is fitted a hollowtubular member 28, which has suflicient length to extend from one sideof the jack IE! to the other. The protruding ends of the tubular member28 are provided with pins 29 to prevent displacement. I prefer a hollowtubular member such as 28, for the reason that it is light in weight,yet provides substantial bearing surfaces between. the variou contactingparts.

In order to prevent the jacks l9 from being displaced at the bottom Iprovide non-buckling and non-swaying tension rods 30 (Figs. 2, 11 and12) which extend from suitable plates 3l, carried by the jacks 19, tosuitable plates 32, carried on the stringers l8. The rods 30 are hooked.

at either end (Figs. 11 and 12). The hooks at the jack end, beingarranged to engage suitable 3i and the hooks at the other end beingarranged to enter slots 33 in the plates 32 so that rapid assembly maybe effected.

The jacks l9 and the lower end of the stringers l8, are provided withinterchangeable feet 34 (Figs. 2, 13, 14 and which are formed withshanks 35 arranged to engage suitable sockets carried by the jacks 19.The bases of the feet may be formed of hollow cup-like elements as shownin Fig. 13, which would be suitable for out of doors use on soft ground,or they can be formed with partitions 14a, such as shown in Fig. 14,between which partitions strip of rubber Nb can be inserted. Such anarrangement would provide substantial fiictional contact for safe use onindoor floors and the like. I also illustrate in Fig. 15 how the feetmay be set in concrete if it is desired to make the installation more orless permanent.

I will now describe the seating and foot board elements of my device,which, as it will be noted in Fig. 2, are all arranged above thestringer I8 and directly supported thereby.

The seat supports 36 (Figs. 2 and 6) are formed of angle iron having aT-shaped cross-section and notched as at 31, and bent to form invertedU-shaped brackets. The free ends of the brackets are cut so that one legof the T rests on the stringers l8, as at 36, and the other legs of theT are bent, as at 39. The ends 38 and the bent portions 39 are thensecured to the stringers l8 by any suitable means, such as welding or byrivets 40.

' I prefer to brace the seat brackets 36 by welding or riveting crossmembers 4| thereto as shown in Figs. 2 and 6. The seat boards 42 havedepending from their under sides, inverted'cup like members 43, whichare adapted to fit over the upper portions of the brackets 36 andprevent the seat boards 42 from being displaced laterally.

In order to prevent the vertical displacement of the seats 42, I providea locking device (Figs. 6 and '7) for each end, which consists of a pairof ears 44 formed on the member 43 into which is pivoted as at 45 a flatlatch member 46. The member 46. is balanced so that it normally rests inthe angular position shown in Figs. 6 and-'7, and so that its upper endengages the under edge of the upper portion of the bracket 36. Thispermits the seat board 42 to be readily placed in position for as itmoves downwardly the latch 46 is swung out of the way and when the seatboard is in position of rest the latch swings into locking position. Thelatch 46 is easily swung out of locking position by hand if it isdesired to remove the board 42, but any unintentional upward movement ofthe board 42 fastens the latch 46 more securely. The latch 46 is held inproper angular positionby means of a stop 46a.

There is ample room between the seats to permit persons to enter andleave without disturbing the persons seated. The foot boards 41 aresupported by bridge members 48, which are secured by rivets 49 or bywelding to the seat brackets 36, as shown in Fig. 6. The foot boards 41hav depending channel members 50 adapted to fit over the bridge members48 and be secured thereto by latches 5|, similar to the latches alreadydescribed, so that they cannot be displaced.

I provide a removable guard rail 52 for each section of my improvedbleacher. This rail is preferably made of angle iron welded to form,

and is secured by bolts to U-shaped brackets 53 (Figs. 4 and 5) whichare in turn secured by welding or other suitable means to the stringersl8 as shown.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In a portable bleacher construction, including diagonal stringers andsupporting jacks for the same, the combination of a bearing membersecured to and joining the vertical legs of each jack, the said bearingmembers being adapted to distribute horizontally a substantial portionof the weight of a pair of stringers, the vertical legs of each jackhaving extension members which embrace the outsides of each pair ofstringers, there being a hollow tubular member extending through thesaid extension members and. each pair of stringers.

2. In a portable bleacher construction, including diagonal stringers andsupporting jacks for the same, the combination of a bearing membersecured to and joining thevertical legs of each jack, the said bearingmembers being adapted to distribute horizontally a substantial portionof the weight of a pair of stringers, the vertical legs HERBERT V.LUDWICK.

